potted plants & stone

[gahspidy]

What are you initial thoughts on this. Does it work for you or is there anything that jumps out and feels wrong . . .
thanks

[Overbeyond]

Vey first thing that hit me was the cross stone through the window. It's so prominent that I was wondering to find a place for it in the context of the wall and plants. Perhaps it has some kind of morbid significance with the dead and dying plants. A gravestone for the plants perhaps. It's all framed up very well Gary and difficult to find any problems of a technical nature.
I'm wondering now how a vertical format might look here, say with the window off centre.
Tom

PS Is this some sort of memorial Gary.

[readingr]

Gary,

To me the cross looks like its behind the window at the top and then at the bottom it looks like part of the window, intriguing.

Is it, as Tom says a memorial of some sort?

One aspect I find needs some work is the right hand windows - the sky looks like its been lightened by the right wall and looks a little unnatural.

Technically it is good, but as for the picture I'm missing the story behind it.

Roger

[Frog]

I think you've captured some great texture and I like this a lot.
The only thing I'd like to see is the window less centered.

[Greg McCary]

Gary I have looked at this a good dozen times. You're PPing skills are super. To me there does appear to be something going on with the cross, I am just not sure what? To me it seems to lack depth. Mostly in the upper part. I guess it will take a few more views. Maybe you layered it with two exposures to bring out more detail or added texture to the sky? Overall the subject and composition are splendid. Great presentation as always.
Greg

[chuckmoser]

Wow. I really like this photo. The colors are the first thing that hit me. It sets the mood. Then, the textures caught my attention. The only thing that bothers me is the background sky surrounding the cross. It looks a little artificial to me, but that's after staring at it for a solid minute. If I saw this framed on someone's wall, I probably wouldn't notice.
Did you use filters on the camera to achieve the warm tones?

-Chuck

[gahspidy]

Tom, Roger, Frog, Greg, and Chuck, your comments have been very helpful.

First off, this is a sort of ruin of supposedly an old hotel at one time. The "cross" through the window is actually the center of four window openings on the other side (about twenty five feet away) and I just placed the intersection of the openings in the middle of this opening to have it look like a cross.
Tom and Roger, there really is no story here but I was just going for a pleasantly weird scene (hoping)
You are right about the odd looking nature of the window and "cross". And Greg, I agree there was a lack of depth there. Roger, good eye in spotting the faults in the editing of the opening area. Chuck, yes, the bg sky behind the cross was way overdone. the warm tones were brought in during post processing in PS.
I have redone that area and edited the original photo. I am posting the photo that you all originally commented on for comparison.
I feel there is much improvement in the image now thanks to all your input on this.

Here is the original, and the large one up there now is the edited image . . .

[readingr]

Gary,

This is much better - I can now see what you were aiming for and the textures are much better in this version and the cross looks more obviously behind the window which draws my eye into the picture.

Roger

[Greg McCary]

I agree with Roger. Darkening the cross and adjusting the sky has given it more depth. I also agree with you that it is a improvement.
Greg

[gahspidy]

Roger, Greg. . . thanks for your help and responses.